Adhesive-backed vinyl films, alternately referred to as graphics, have become increasingly popular for applying graphic images to a variety of surfaces such as the surfaces of vehicles, walls, floors, support columns, other structures, and objects in general. These graphic images may include messages, signs and other graphic elements, and are printed on one side of the film, with the other side of the film being coated with a pressure-sensitive adhesive that allows the film to be attached to a surface, typically without damaging or altering the surface, even when the film is removed. These films can also be laminated to provide additional protection for the graphic images printed on the film, and also provide additional structural strength to the film. A particularly popular use of graphics is for applying graphic designs to vehicles. These graphics are commonly referred to as vehicle vinyl wraps, and when applied to the vehicle, they may completely or partially cover a vehicle's original paint with a vinyl wrap of a different color, and sometimes the same color with a differing finish like a gloss, matte or protective layer. Other terms used to refer to a vehicle vinyl wrap are car wrap, paint wrap, color change wrap, and vehicle graphics.
The production of graphics involves a number of input products and process steps that, due to the complexity of their combinations, often result in underutilization of production resources such as printers and laminating machines, excess waste of input materials such as film substrates, inks and laminates, and costly delays in producing technically accurate, durable, and warrantable products.
The method and apparatus disclosed herein provide for solving the technical problems involved in producing graphics in general, and in producing vinyl wraps in particular.